Abdication

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." If men who are obscure and quiet and tempted to envy the glory of kings they might profitably meditate on the speech that Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Richard II while he abandons his crown:

I give this heavy weight from off my head

And this unwieldy scepter from my hand,

The pride of kingly sway from out my heart;

With mine own tears I wash away my value,

With mine own hands I give away my

crown.

With mine own tongue deny my sacred state,

With mine own breath release all duteous

oaths.

• The Cradle, the Cross and the Crown
• The Crown Of Life
• Crown Him With Many Crowns
  

Flagellation of Christ

Description of Illustrations: illustration, black and whites, Season of Lent, whips, two different illustrations

       The Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column or the Scourging at the Pillar, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the Life of Christ. It is the fourth station of the modern alternate Stations of the Cross, and a Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary. The column to which Christ is normally tied, and the rope, scourge, whip or birch are elements in the Arma Christi. The Basilica di Santa Prassede in Rome, claimed to possess the original column.

       Flagellation at the hands of the Romans is mentioned in three of the four canonical Gospels: John 19:1, Mark 15:15, and Matthew 27:26, and was the usual prelude to crucifixion under Roman law. None of three accounts are more detailed than John's "Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged" (NIV). Luke's comparable account, Luke 22:63-65 is of the High Priest's guards beating and mocking Jesus. In the Passion of Christ the episode precedes the Mocking of Christ and the Crowning with thorns, which the Gospels happened at the same time or immediately after. Unlike the flogging, these were not part of the normal Roman judicial process.

 

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Real strength is in the Lord...

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the
everlasting arms." Deuteronomy 33:27

Description of Illustration: strength in scripture, elderly and fragile, strength from God is true strength, portrait of an elderly woman, knowing gaze, black and white illustration

"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your
strength." Nehemiah 8:10

 Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

The Faithful

Description of Illustration: illustration, greyscale, congregation, pews, singing hymns, families, carved wood, umbrellas, hymnals, 

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Under the cover of darkness...

"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."
Ephesians 5:11 (ESV)

Description of Illustration: evil in the night, murderers, men with guns, masked men come to kill, hanging from a tree, victims of evil men, horses, forest, dark and dusty road, black and white illustration, white text

"in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience..."
 Ephesians 2:2 (ESV)

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

The Trombone Player

Description of Illustration: big brass trombone, music, musician, craftsman, apron, black and white

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

"The tables are turned"

Description of Illustration: cat cookie and mouse, black and white, idiom meaning the reverse of fortune, the rat or mouse now chases or eats the cat

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Antique Sacred Heart Scraps

 Description of the illustration: Jesus and Mary, halos, flaming hearts, angels, columns, rose buds, Victorian scraps

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Six rules for making good coffee...

Description of the illustration: chalkboard graphic, steps for making great coffee, black board, chalk paint, writing with chalk, green and black versions

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Scriptures About Lepers

"Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate;
and they said to one another, "Why do we sit here until we die?" 2 Kings 7:3

Description of Illustration: lepers, leprous, skin disease, unclean, drawing of lepers in stained glass design, skin affliction, lepers in Bible times, transparent background

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Initially, infections are without symptoms and typically remain this way for 5 to 20 years. Symptoms that develop include granulomas of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This may result in a lack of ability to feel pain, thus loss of parts of extremities due to repeated injuries or infection due to unnoticed wounds. Weakness and poor eyesight may also be present. Read more...

"In all cases involving serious skin diseases, be careful to follow the instructions
 of the Levitical priests; obey all the commands I have given them. Remember
what the LORD your God did to Miraim as you were coming from Egypt."
Deuteronomy 23: 8-9

"The LORD furthermore said to him, "Now put your hand into your bosom."
So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his
hand was leprous like snow. The He said, "Put your hand into your bosom
again." So he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of
 his bosom, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh." Exodus 4: 6-7

"The man is afflicted with a serious skin disease; he is unclean.
The priest must pronounce him unclean; the infection is on his head."
Leviticus 13:44

"As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers.
They stood at a distance..." Luke 17:12

"A man suffering from a dreaded skin disease came to Jesus, knelt down,
and begged him for help. "if you want to," he said, "you can make me clean."
Jesus was filled with pity, and reached out and touched him. "I do want to,"
he answered. "Be Clean! Mark 1: 40-41

And Yeshua said to him, "Take heed that you speak to no one, but
go shew yourself to the priest and bring a gift as Moses
commanded for their testimony." Matthew 8:4

"Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest
shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among
thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly
to swell;" Numbers 5:21

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

About lepers in modern culture.

Christ Bleeds for The World

Description of Illustration: illustration of Jesus, planet Earth, Sacred Heart, bleeding heart, halo, black and white

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Orthodox Trinity Portrait

Description of Illustration:  Jesus makes the sign of the Holy Trinity, He holds an open Bible with the letters symbolic for Alpha Omega, Greek text, halo, Trinity symbolism, Beginning and Ending, God The Father, God The Son, God The Holy Spirit, transparent background, Eastern Orthodox portrait of the Trinity. the blessing of the Trinity in the hand

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Passion Flowers and The Cross

 

Description of Illustration: scripture text from Galatians, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14, purple Passion Flowers, white cross, black background, two versions, one with text and one without

 

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

A Cherubim Presents a Dramatic Persformance

Description of the illustration: Greyscale, hand drawn with a pencil, Greek theatre masks, happy and sad expressions, for a performance at your church, church theater, one version with a box for personalizing the performance and one without, add your own text or the name of your play within the box above.

 

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

A hand adds things up...

 

Description of Illustration: black and white illustration of hand tabulating or calculating, adding things up, writing down numbers

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Elegant Blue Twilled Paper

Artist: restored, recolored, resized by the staff
 
Directions: Click directly on the image to download the largest available size.

Who Were the Kings of Judah in Succession?

       The names of the kinds of Judah in their canonical order are: Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah (queen), Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah.

• The Kings of Israel & Judah - chart
• Kings of Judah - where to find them in scripture

What Is the Origin of the Name "Jew" ?

       The appellation "Jew" is derived from the patriarch Judah, and was originally applied to all members of that tribe and also to subjects of the separate kingdom of Judah, in contradiction to the seceding ten tribes, who retained the name of Israelites. During the captivity and ever since, the term "Jew" seems to have been applied indiscriminately to the whole race.

• Why Are Jews Called Jews?
• Origin and meaning of the name jew by Online Etymology
• Who Is a Jew?

How Many Walls Had Jerusalem?

       There were three walls about Jerusalem. The first was built by David and Solomon; the second, enclosing one of the northern sections of the city, was built by Uzziah, Jotham and Manasseh, and restored by Nehemiah; the third was built by Herod Agrippa, and was intended to enclose the hitherto unprotected suburbs which had grown out from the northern part of the city. According to Josephus, who is not always thoroughly reliable, the circumference of the city, evidently including all the sections enclosed by the tree walls he describes, was thritythree stadia, a little less then four English miles.

• The Walls of Jerusalem Through The Centuries - A Timeline
• Map of Jerusalem's Walls - First Century Jerusalem
• Nehemiah's Wall

Scriptures and A Spring Wreath

"I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily,
and cast forth his roots as Lebanon." Hosea 14:5

Description of Illustration: scripture in the center of the wreath, white background, ribbon, multiple flower types: tulips, roses, lilies, ect..., King James translation

"And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin..." Matthew 6: 28-29

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: buy the word of our
 God shall stand for ever." Isaiah 40:8

"As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field,
 so he flourisheth." Psalms 103:15-16

"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys."
 Song of Solomon 2:1

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject folks.

Marbled Paper: White Vein Overprinted on Spanish Moiré: Earth Tones

Artist: restored, recolored, resized by the staff

Directions: Click directly on the image to download the largest available size.

Marbled Paper: Turkish Pattern: Blue, Teal and Earth Tones

Artist: restored, recolored, resized by the staff

Directions: Click directly on the image to download the largest available size.

Marbled Paper: Combed Once: Greens and Greys

Artist: restored, recolored, resized by the staff
 
Directions: Click directly on the image to download the largest available size.

Who Named Eve?

       Adam bestowed upon his companion the name of "Eve" (Gen. 3:20)."Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living." Genesis 3:20 (NIV)

• Eve - The Mother of All the Living by Ray Fowler
• The Godly Line of Seth

Who Was David's Mother?

       Her name is not given in Scripture. The reference to Abigail, one of the members of Jesse's family, in II Sam. 17:25, is frequently misunderstood. The Nahash there mentioned is either another name for Jesse or it refers to Nahash, king of Ammon, one of whose wives afterward became the wife of Jesse, as stated in the chronicles of the Jewish Church.

• King David said "In sin did my MOTHER conceive me", but it's no support for a sinful nature Ps. 51:5 
• King David's big, dark secret
• Wife of Jesse

What Was the Name of Cain's Wife?

      The name of Cain's wife is nowhere mentioned in the Bible. Arab traditions are preserved in one of which she is called Azura, in another Save, but these are not seriously regarded by scholars.

• Who was Cain's wife? Was she his sister?
• Where Did Cain Get His Wife?

What Became of Aaron's Rod?

       It was preserved in the tabernacle and, according to Paul (see Heb. 9:4), it was kept in the Ark, beside the two tablets of stone and the pot of manna. There is no mention of any other receptacle. The statement in I Kings 8:9 implies that by Solomon's time these relics had disappeared. It is possible, however, for a different interpretation to be placed on Deut. 31:26, which may mean that the rod was kept beside the Ark, and not within it.

• The Budding Of Aaron's Rod
• Aaron's Rod is Turned into a Serpent 

What Language Did Adam and Eve Speak?

       There are many mundane things beyond the reach of present human knowledge and the site of Eden and the language of our first parents are among the number. Some philologists have ventured the conjecture that the primeval language must have been a simple vocabulary whose formation is indicated in Gen. 2:19, and which was strictly limited to the natural requirements of our first progenitors; in other words, signs and sounds apprehensible by the senses. All agree that speech, or the power of expressing emotions, or desires, was coeval with the creation of man. The earliest monuments and inscriptions yet discovered do not reach as far back into antiquity as the confusion of tongues at Babel (about B. C. 2200), previous to which (Gen. 2:1), the Biblical record states that "the whole earth was of one language and one speech," although probably there were many variations and dialects, each containing some element of the original tongue. Man's first utterances were probably what philologists term a "physical language," limited to the expression of simple needs and afterwards expanded to meet man's growing experience with his own nature and the world around him.

• The Language Spoken by Adam 
• Does the Ancient Sumerian Language Predate the Flood?
• About Old Hebrew

Was Adam a Red Man?

       Adam means "red" and so also does the word Edom, both having relation to the ruddiness of flesh and the color of the clayey soil. (See Gen. 2:7.) Some commentators hold that Adam, the first man, was probably of the complexion of the Arabs, or Edomites, ruddy though dark, while others take a different view. No definite theory can be formed on this subject.

Did Adam and Eve Actually Eat Fruit, or Is the Saying a Parable?

       The only source of information is the Bible narrative and it contains no intimation that it is to be understood otherwise than literally. Theologians who have preferred to regard the narrative as a parable or allegory have usually been led to do so by the suggestion that the eating of fruit which was "good for food'' and "pleasant to the eyes," and was moreover within reach, was an offense too venial to have been justly visited with a punishment so severe and far-reaching. The objection, however, is not well founded, because it ignores the main point involved. The gravity of the offense consisted, not in the act itself, but in the fact that Adam and Eve in committing it were consciously and willfully violating God's explicit and emphatic command. They were punished for disobedience. Even if we should hold that it took some other form than the actual and literal eating of fruit, the principle is the same. There is no valid reason for rejecting the Bible narrative or putting any other construction on the words than is there implied.